Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting woman during last rites pleads no contest

AUSTIN, Texas (CBS Austin) -An Austin Catholic priest arrested after police say he assaulted a woman in hospice care has pleaded no contest to the charge he faced.

75-year-old Rev. Gerold Langsch was charged with assault by contact, class a misdemeanor. He accepted a plea deal Wednesday.

The incident allegedly happened in October 2018 when a woman was put on hospice care after suffering from several medical conditions. Police were contacted five days later, but an arrest wasn't made until early March. APD says the investigation was delayed due to complications with the woman's health. This month she was able to identify the priest in a lineup helping officers make an arrest.

While on hospice, the victim's ex-husband contacted the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic-based fraternal service organization, to inform them of the victim's illness.

They offered to send a priest to their home to give the victim her last rites, a religious ceremony to offer absolution of sins before dying through anointment.

On Oct. 5 the priest came to the house and anointed her with holy water.

The priest, however, then applied lotion on her chest at which point "he massaged her breast and pinched her nipple, saying 'does that feel good?'" the affidavit states.

The victim was in shock, uncomfortable, and confused. In the affidavit, she described feeling like a "nasty, dirty piece of meat."

The judge ordered Langsch to have no contact with anyone in the victim's family and is no longer allowed to work as a minister in the Catholic church or perform last rites ever again in t